GRRRR !!! Identity theft

Had a phone call from my mobile service provider this afternoon, just double checking a few things as it seems someone using my details has applied for a phone, and as the details were put into their system it flagged up my details but with a different address.

Im not impressed to say the least..... the address that they are using is based in london (im cheshire) - that is all they could tell me, but would release they full details to the police, and that they had put it through to the fraud dept.

Does anyone have any experience in 'identity theft' as it were ??

My wallet and mobile were nicked a couple of months ago, but there wasnt anything in containing my address, let alone my date of birth. So im thinking that maybe its internet related (paypal etc or maybe a keylogger in my PC).

Ive contacted my local police, who arent sure if its up to them....so they will look into it and pass my details on to london ......whats they odds on london passing the buck back and deciding its nothing to do with them ??

I am also going to get a copy of my credit history and check through alll the aplications etc in that, as if they have name, address and DOB they could apply for anything

Anyone have any further advice and paths to follow up, or is it just a case of sitting tight and see what happens ??

yes you can get the credit reference companies to put a special flag on your account - so that if there is a request for a search on your account becase someone has applied for credit or the like then they can check wether it is you by having a special password on your account.

southern jessy - this is the bloke who lives at the house where your bills comin to

cant remember much more of that convo, the geezer sounded black/caribean origin tho, and pretty young maybe 18 ish ??

Then they rang back about 20 seconds later, giving a load of verbal about coming to find me, and when they get me they will slit my throat etc still asking what the F am i gonna do about this bill ( my bill is payed by DD anyway so there is no 'bill' to pay). Telling me they know everything about me, to which i told him he's a little knob etc etc..then they quoted a vodafone account number to me - and said they have everyones phone number i have texted or spoke to

So i ring vodafone up and guess what - after ringing me in the first place to inform me of someone trying to use my details to get a phone, they had changed my billing address to the one someone had given trying to con a phone !! they also wouldnt tell me the london address but its from somewhere near croydon as i heard her when she was tracing back to when/how the address was changed.

They also had the audacity to tell me its a Â£25 charge to change my number because of the malicious calls - i do get it free though if i can sit on hold for 45 mins trying to report it to the rozzers !!

so id just like to thank vodafone from the bottom of my heart for giving out my girlfriends number, her family and my familys and friends phone numbers to some random complete idiot who sees fit to ring up and spout verbals to down the phone.

A little unsure what to do really - obviously i pissed at vodafone for their huge cock up, but also slightly relieved they didnt let someone get a phone im my name in the first instance, but one right dont cancel out a wrong. Maybe contact the police to see how they got on last time ??

The slitting my throat, and the go suck your momma comments etc sailed right over my head and laughed at him on the phone so didnt take serioulsy for 1 minute.

i used to work for ornage. the people that tried to get the phone and scam you will not be the person that called you. they look through a phone book and get peoples random address etc so it isnt traced to them. So imagine getting a bill you know nowt about your bound to ring and go mad as it could get that address black listed, plus the people at the address will think your the one doing the scam. Because if they had conectted a new phone to your account the bill would of gone to another address. they do this so you dont see a bill and dont realise for ages and the money just comes out your bank DD. They then use the phone as a pool phone. A pool phone are as follows-

They get say 5+ phones get a shop, chain the phones to a wall and charge people half the price of call abroad. We use to see this alot these phones would be used soild 24hrs a day to calls abroad until they get cut off. they then throw the sim card away and sell the phone.

Alot of the time this goes for about 2 month till you notice the big bills coming out of your bank. So always make sure you get a bill everymonth, check the amout of hand sets conected to the account.

how can someone walk into a bank and take money out of someone elses account and not get cought? its one of the most stpuid things anyone can do. banks have so many cctv's its unbelivable. Not to mention the ones you dont see!

Anyways, i couple of weeks ago, i got a call, to say my credit limit is going to be raised. I am in scotland, so the guy automatically thought i would have an account with the royal bank of scotland or bank of scotland. So he says your credit limit will be raised to Â£2,500. Now i need your account number (card number) address, phone number, dob to confirm who you are as a security check.

Me, not thinking at the time, i gave them everything. Luckily i am hooked upto the net, i checked my account with my bank, and it said i still had my prev. crappy limit of Â£700 ... great, that was a fraud call. i cancelled everything, not to mention the pain i went through to give all the recurring billings my new card number, i was charged several times etc.

So anyone calls you, never give your card number. i feel so stupid after falling for that guy.

Play - thats pretty mnuch what i thought, hardly going to give out their real address when scamming a phone.

I would like to think that most normal people would have rung vodafone and/or sent them the bill back to them first, rather than ringing the number off the bill and trying to intimidate them. (the behatch that is mrs jingles was going to pin a note to my motor when i was training saying 'we know where you live !! )

Like i said, this thread was started the day vodafone first rang me to say someone had tried to use my details 2/8/05, which that same day i called their customer services to check it was a real call and not a fraudulent phishing type call - i had loads of agro at first because the address i was giving didnt match the one now on their records, so after eventually getting to the bottom of things, she advised i called the feds and informed them about everything.

Fast forward nearly a month to yesterday, and the dozy cone heads have sent out my number and account number to a complete stranger - to the address which was confirmed as not mine and with the possability of fraud involved, along with what ever else is included on the bills (never paid that much attention to one myself) - which resulted in abusive/threatening calls to myself, with the added threat of calls to the numbers on the bill, then said i could change my number for Â£25 !!

To get you number chnage for free just make an crime number up eg coulpe of inital of your town then / then random number thed todays date like 2608 thats what most are like. They dont do out with them its just as they know most people wont want to phone the cops as they have been shagging some one they shouldnt etc so they just pay the Â£25 hahaha

Yes the scary bit is you could really put the frighteners up someone especially if you used somthing like this - http://www.childlocate.co.uk/index.html , they could then ring up and tell you where your near !! (Kitty take the link out if you think it could encourage someone to use it in this way.)

Im not sure of the best way to compalin about it, obviously i dont think i should say nothing - maybe a free number change and free nokia N91 in way of compensation, but it is pretty incompetant of them, i might get down to the local voda shop this afternoon, the media card they flogged me 2 months ago has packed in as well

ORIGINAL: footdee

That was a good idea from Mrs Jingles.

I'd have done it!

LOL she wouldnt dare, that would have meant i wouldnt cook for her anymore, and she would have to do her own washing - she knows where her breads buttered !!